• O W Press.
• Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle 98195, USA.
• Semin. Oncol. 1999 Oct 1; 26 (5 Suppl 14): 58-65.

AbstractPatients with relapsed B-cell lymphomas are currently incurable with conventional doses of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In recent years, new treatment options have become available for these patients, including the use of chimeric mouse-human anti-CD20 antibodies and radiolabeled anti-CD20 antibodies. The nonradioactive rituximab (Rituxan; IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, and Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, CA) antibody induces remissions in 60% of patients with relapsed follicular lymphomas, including 5% to 10% complete remissions. Anti-CD20 antibodies radiolabeled with iodine 131 and yttrium 90 given at nonmyeloablative doses yield remissions in 75% to 80% of cases, including 35% to 40% complete remissions. High-dose (131)I-anti-B1 antibody with stem cell transplantation generates objective responses in 85% to 90% of cases, including 75% to 80% complete remissions. Although more patients need to be evaluated with a longer follow-up period, radioimmunotherapy appears to be an effective and well-tolerated addition to the oncologists' armamentarium for relapsed lymphomas.

18 keywords...

hide…